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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802358">Harmony</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_storm13/pseuds/luna_storm13'>luna_storm13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety Attacks, Fem!Harry, Female Harry Potter, Forced Marriage, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Runaway Harry, Slow To Update, Suspension Of Disbelief, Work In Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:41:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,715</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802358</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_storm13/pseuds/luna_storm13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After defeating Voldemort at the end of her fifth year Harry was forced into a marriage. Months later Harry flees her marriage, and ends up in small-town America, hoping to hide from the entire wizarding world. In an effort to blend in she joins a Glee Club. But will she truly be happy with her new life? And how long can she stay hidden?</p>
<p>Originally posted on fanfiction.net under the same username. I'll try to update both works.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue - Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>                She walked into the store trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, without appearing obvious. Her hood was up, but not pulled over her face, she walked quietly and calmly through the crowds of the store. However when she reached the door to the back, she prayed no one noticed as she stealthily entered, sending out a silent thanks to the universe that the door had been unlocked.</p>
<p>                She found George’s office in the back, shut the door behind her and sat in the only visitor’s chair in the room.</p>
<p>                It was almost half an hour later that George finally entered his office. In that time Harry had not moved a muscle since she had sat down, even though she was so nervous that it felt like her insides were shaking. But the <em>lessons </em>she had received did not allow her to forget how to properly sit and wait.</p>
<p>                “What are you doing in my office?” George demanded as soon as he spotted the slight figure sitting primly in front of his desk. George shut the door with a decidedly determined click. He was not in the mood to deal with inquisitive strangers today, especially sneaky inquisitive strangers that had broken in to his office.</p>
<p>                “I was looking for some advice on a present but I did not want to face the crowds in the shop. I hope you don’t mind.” She replied in an even polite tone, but her body still did not move. George’s angry strides carried him to his chair, disbelief evident in his face as he turned towards the newcomer.</p>
<p>                “Harry?”</p>
<p>                “Yes, George. Did you honestly believe a stranger would wait in your office for you?” He sat down on his chair with a thump.</p>
<p>                “It almost seems more believable than you. You haven’t spoken a word to me or to anyone in the family for seven months. We haven’t seen you since the Battle and -“ He cut himself off, unable to finish the sentence, to acknowledge the pain he carried with him every day. “And then we find out that you just up and married Malfoy, without a single by-your-leave. You didn’t invite us to the wedding, or invite any of us over for tea afterwards, hell we had to find out via the Prophet! Reporters knew before we did! How dare you Harry! You were family and then you pull this crap.” His voice grew oddly quiet and resigned near the end of his speech. She would have expected him to yell. Perhaps he had changed since she had last seen him. It wouldn’t surprise her, she had changed, changed so much, so why shouldn’t George.</p>
<p>                “Really George. This conversation is quite unseemly. I didn’t tell you because everything seemed to happen so quickly, it was so romantic, but I’ve been so caught up with settling in to my marriage that it hadn’t occurred to me that it had been so long since I had talked to any of you. I am sorry for not inviting you to my wedding, but there simply wasn’t enough room for everybody that we would have liked. But we preferred to keep our wedding a simple quiet affair, we didn’t think it <em>seemly </em>to hold such a large celebration after the horrors of the battle.”</p>
<p>                “That’s no excuse.”</p>
<p>                “George, honestly, you have such trouble focusing on the topic at hand, just like when you and your family picked me up to come to the Burrow summer before second year. You couldn’t concentrate on the task at hand; too busy fussing over my lack of letters. I’d been busy then and I’ve been busy now. Can we please get back to my reason for coming here; I was hoping I could get you to invent something for me. I’ve got the idea all planned out, but I don’t know enough on how to actually create it. It’s a gift you see, and I would like it kept top-secret.” Her eyes pleaded with his, hoping he would pick up her subtle hints, remember that summer that felt so long ago and yet so close, when he and his brothers had broken her out of her prison of a bedroom. His eyes were shrewd, speculative, she honestly couldn’t be certain if he understood.</p>
<p>                “Top-secret you say? Would you mind if I were to put up some privacy wards? I wouldn’t want your present to be spoiled.”</p>
<p>                “Not at all, I’m rather proud of my idea, and I really do not want anyone else knowing before Lucius’ birthday party.” He nodded, and immediately raised several privacy wards, some his own design. She watched his wand work and muttered words carefully, feeling the magic wash over her. She inwardly smiled as she felt them snap into place.</p>
<p>                “Right, privacy wards are all in place now.”</p>
<p>                “You’re positive, nothing can get through? Nothing can be seen or heard of us?”</p>
<p>                “Yes, I’ve even added one of my own privacy ones that prevents anything being discussed in this room being discussed with an outside party without both of our express permission and consent.”</p>
<p>                “Can you do another spell please?”</p>
<p>                “What one?”</p>
<p>                “Can you please check for any magical bugs? With a business as thriving as yours I wouldn’t be surprised if some competition from Zonko’s hasn’t slipped some bugs into your office to steal your ideas.” He nodded quickly, becoming more concerned the more paranoid she seemed. He ran a thorough diagnostic over the entire room, pausing for a second when he saw Harry make a subtle hand gesture pointing at herself. He quickly ran the spell over her discovering both a bug and a tracking spell. He quickly dismantled both spells, making it appear as if they were still functioning to the other side, but now impossible to use.</p>
<p>                 “Now, Harry, tell me what’s wrong.”</p>
<p>                “Oh god, George, I need your help.” Harry’s stiff posture disappeared instantaneously as she brought her legs up to her chest, curling up in a ball.</p>
<p>                “I gathered that much; very nice hint-dropping, by the way.” She smiled wanly in response.</p>
<p>                “I wasn’t sure if you would get it. I didn’t want to make it too obvious, in case someone was listening.”</p>
<p>                “Someone was.” She nodded stiffly, “Harry, why didn’t you remove the spells yourself?”</p>
<p>                “I haven’t ... I haven’t got my wand anymore.”</p>
<p>                “Why not?”</p>
<p>                “He took it from me, it’s locked away so I can’t access it.”</p>
<p>                “Who?”</p>
<p>                “Draco, it was Lucius’ idea.”</p>
<p>                “Why? When?”</p>
<p>                “They wanted me helpless and dependent on them. If I had my wand I could have fought them, could have tried to stop them. So he had Draco steal it from me before they told me of my marriage to Draco.”</p>
<p>                “But they can’t have just forced you to marry Draco! Both parties have to consent!”</p>
<p>                “My legal guardians consent was all that was needed for me, despite my protests. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were more than happy to get rid of me a year early in exchange for several thousand pounds. Especially if all they had to do was sign a contract marrying me to some other freak.”</p>
<p>                “Harry, do you know what this contract says exactly? If I’m going to help you it’s very important that I know the exact wording of it and what it commits you to.”</p>
<p>                “It’s pretty firm. According to the contract I am officially married to Draco and can never divorce him, although he may choose to divorce me at any time. If he does choose to divorce me I remain his, my possessions are his possessions, my body his body, he will still control me I just will not have the benefits that come from a legal marriage. I will produce a minimum of one male heir for him, but will have as many children as he desires. All my possessions are now his, my political power is controlled by him, I cannot cheat on him. I am to obey Draco, and by extension his father while Lucius remains head of the family, in all things.”</p>
<p>                “Harry, that contract sounds pretty air-tight, I don’t think I can get you out of it. Perhaps we could focus on how it was your muggle relatives that signed it and not you, being muggle they shouldn’t be able to enter into a magical contract.”</p>
<p>                “George, I think you misunderstand me. I need to get out. Now. I don’t think I can stand staying there for another day.”</p>
<p>                “Running away won’t solve the problem of the contract; you’re still legally bound to it. We need to focus on that before you do anything. Are you able to get me a copy of it?” She shook her head numbly; she couldn’t get a copy of it.</p>
<p>                Slowly, with careful motions, Harry began to pull her elbow-length gloves off, George looked down at her hands, only just noticing that she had kept the emerald-green velvet gloves on. He sucked in a breath and had to resist the urge to get physically sick.</p>
<p>                Her arms were covered in bruises, and burns, and scars, and welts. It was almost as if their natural colour was a sickly shade of blue-green, rather than the porcelain it was meant to be.</p>
<p>                Her wrists were worse though. So much worse. They were raw, and bloody, and yet other parts of her wrists were shiny with scar tissue. </p>
<p>                “If I don’t get out of there today I don’t think I will get another chance to leave for years. They will question what happened when I came here to talk to you. Why I would so patiently wait for you to enter your office rather than just seek you out immediately. My behaviour will be suspicious. Suspicious enough that they will not let me leave the manor by myself again. I can’t stay there anymore. If I don’t escape today I will find a way to kill myself. Because I can’t. I can’t do this anymore. “</p>
<p>                “Harry-“</p>
<p>                “No, I need to leave and I need to do it now. All I’m asking you for is if you can please create a fake Muggle passport and id for me to use. I’m leaving, leaving Britain and the wizarding world. I won’t tell you more because if I do they may be able to get it out of you.”</p>
<p>George sighed deeply, wishing that there was more he could do than just help her escape. Before he nodded, handed her his desktop first aid kit (for recovery from experiments) and began to create the necessary documents using a combination of permanent transfiguration and charms. Harry smiled wanly, before slathering on the healing potions. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>XXXXXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p> </p>
<p>                George remembered rescuing Harry the summer she turned twelve. It was one of the most traumatic episodes of his life at the time, it wasn’t meant to be, it had started out as a great adventure, sure they thought something was probably up but they hadn’t expected what they had found.</p>
<p>                When they first arrived outside Harry’s window, it had taken her what seemed like several minutes to get out of her bed and make her way to the window to confirm that it was really them. Her window had been barred, a sight that disturbed them greatly. Once they had removed the bars from her window and Fred and he had entered into her room they discovered that the bars were not the most disturbing sight to be found in that house.</p>
<p>                Harry had been skin and bones, she had always been small and skinny for her age but now she looked emaciated. Bruises littered her face and every visible patch of skin. She walked with a limp, as if her right leg could not support her weight, and she favoured her left arm when doing anything. They had been able to pick the locks and head to the cupboard under the stairs to retrieve her school supplies. That in itself had been a revelation. Inside the cramped and tiny cupboard, too small for them to stand inside, they had found a battered, old, blood-stained, camp bed. And messy words carved into the wall above the bed proclaiming it “Harry’s Room.” They’d nearly vomited at the sight of it. They had thought her bedroom with its locks, and barred window, and lack of any comforts had been the worst it could have gotten. They had promised themselves that they would protect her. But no matter how hard they had tried they had failed at every turn.  </p>
<p>                He prayed to every god that he knew that maybe she would finally catch a break and be happy and safe for once in her life. In the meantime he would do what he could on his end to work on finding a loophole in the contract. Perhaps Percy and Bill would know what to do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wandering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>She’d been running for weeks. She’d started off in South America. Brazil specifically, a country she knew literally nothing about except that it was where the first plane out of London International Airport was heading. She’d wandered around for a few days before she figured out that a white British teenage girl all by herself in Brazil stood out more than a wizard amongst muggles, which was coincidentally exactly what she was.</p>
<p>                She’d decided to head north, towards the United States, because it was the closest English-speaking country around. She managed to acquire a beat-up old junker of a car when she was in Mexico, after the driver of said car, which she had been hitch-hiking in at the time, keeled over from a heart attack. He’d told her during the drive that he didn’t have any family to speak of. She’d left his body at a local hospital and carried on her way, content in the knowledge that there was no one else that the car was destined to go to.</p>
<p>                She’d wandered around America for about four weeks, mostly living in her car, before stumbling upon Ohio. It had been pure chance that she had entered into small-town Lima, Ohio, a detour on the main highway had sent her stumbling throughout back-roads before she finally found some measure of civilization in Lima.</p>
<p>                Harry didn’t know why, but something about Lima called to her. Maybe it was the seeming lack of magical people and creatures around. Or maybe it was that there was absolutely nothing in small-town Lima that reminded her of back home, except for the gossiping housewives. But here there were no castles, or manors, no pure-bloods or minor aristocracy. Most everyone was blue or white collar workers. She found herself settling down into a tiny apartment in the bad-side of town. It wasn’t much, but the landlord accepted rent money in cash and didn’t ask any questions about why a teenage girl was living on her own.</p>
<p>                She enrolled in the local high school; figuring that there was no better way to go unnoticeable then to do what was expected of someone her age. She hadn’t attended regular school since she’d been eleven, which made enrolling in classes very difficult. But she’d had the forged documents that contained most of the necessary information, including her new name Jessica Williams. She had had to promise the guidance counsellor that her records were on their way from England but that it might take a while, and that her parents were very busy sorting out things with moving so she they had sent her in on her own.</p>
<p>                Eventually they had created a class schedule that Harry was reasonably certain she wouldn’t flunk: English, Art, Accounting, and Latin.  English seemed an easy enough choice, although Harry hadn’t studied it in years she spoke it well enough and had written more than enough essays during her years at Hogwarts to get by. Art was almost a default, Harry wasn’t particularly skilled at it, having never been given the opportunity to try, but really, who had ever failed an art class before? Accounting was the only high-level math that she was able to do. It was important as a <em>Malfoy, </em>she shuddered, to be able to manage and understand the accounts to prevent being swindled, even though as a woman she wouldn’t be responsible for doing anything business-related. Latin had been a shock to her, she hadn’t realized that American schools even offered it anymore, but she was more than glad, because after five years of studying at Hogwarts she had more than a passing familiarity with the language.</p>
<p>                Her classes started four days after she arrived in Lima, having come in at the end of March Break. She had thought that she’d been settling into her classes well enough, she wasn’t obviously failing, but she wasn’t doing terribly great with the other students. It had been so long since she’d been just Harry, just another new student, albeit one with an interesting accent, rather than Harriet Bloody Potter the Girl-Who-Lived-To-Be-Stared-at. It got so bad that by the end of her first week of classes the guidance counsellor, Mrs. Pillsbury, had sat her down to talk about ways to fit into the new school.</p>
<p>                There was talk about study groups, and sports teams, and clubs. Especially about something called a Glee Club, which Harry just didn’t understand at first, was it a club for people that were happy? She’d heard people talking about it in the halls, apparently Glee was for losers, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Loser was a label that she could disappear under, something that would give her anonymity. So once Mrs. Pillsbury explained to her that it was a club for singing and performing, something Harry had no experience with, but maybe she could hum and sway in the background. Harry agreed to join and Mrs. Pillsbury went so far as to walk her to the Glee Club practice that was going on at the time.</p>
<p>                She gave a nervous smile and hoped for the best.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Starting From Scratch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p>                “Glee Kids, Will, this is Jessica Williams. She’s new to McKinley and I think I’ve convinced her to join Glee Club.”</p>
<p>                “Umm by that Ms. Pillsbury means she’s convinced me to come out and see what Glee Club is. Mind if I sit in for a bit, see what it’s all about?”</p>
<p>                “Not at all, Jessica.” The teacher, whose last name she had no idea about, welcomed her in, gesturing her to the front of the room. “Tell us a little about yourself.”</p>
<p>                “Oh, um, I wasn’t expecting to have to do this. Umm I’m British, obviously, just moved to America about two weeks ago. I like to read. And my friends call me Harry.”</p>
<p>                “Hairy?” A Latina-looking girl responded, “Is that because you’re a hairy person, you don’t shave or something?”<br/>                “What? No. It’s because I’m always a bit harried.”</p>
<p>                “So you’ve got a lot of hair?” A tall boy asked, confused.</p>
<p>                “No, damn limited American vocabulary, harried means that you’re bothered by a lot of problems and are as a result anxious. I seem to draw trouble to me like a moth to a light, I was always harried back home, so my friends gave me the nickname and it seemed to have stuck. You can call me Jessica if you want; I’m just more used to going by Harry.”</p>
<p>                “Okay, then, Harry. Anything else you want to share about yourself?”</p>
<p>                “Well to be honest I’m not too sure about joining Glee Club, if I do join is it possible for me to just sort of stay in the back and like sway along?”</p>
<p>                “We do prefer to have more active members, but it’s always nice to have another warm body, and I bet that a couple of our more outspoken members will be glad that you’re not looking to take any solos from them.” He flicked an amused glance at the club members. “Why don’t you grab a seat, check out the Glee Club, and if you like what you see stay back afterwards and talk to me about what auditioning for the club would be like.”</p>
<p>                “Okay, sure.” She snagged a seat beside a buff boy with a Mohawk. Sure he looked dangerous, but deep inside his eyes he seemed friendly. The direct opposite of the refined Malfoys.</p>
<p>                Ms. Pillsbury left, and the other teacher adopted a serious look before beginning what was clearly a rehearsed speech.</p>
<p>                “Guys, I’ve got some bad news. You know how we decided on Sing by My Chemical Romance for Regionals. Well, I hold in my hand a “cease and desist” notice from the band.” The entire room seemed to spring into chaos. Shouting about some coach being responsible, and the teacher responded as if the coach had actually been responsible for it and he had thought of it before they had.</p>
<p>                This didn’t seem to really calm the room down; the other teenagers were clearly upset and worried about they were supposed to do now. Harry wasn’t sure what ‘Regionals’ was, but, she supposed, it was probably some kind of competition or performance or something like that. One of the other girls, brown-haired wearing a red cardigan, suggested that they write their own songs and most of the group seemed to object.</p>
<p>                One of the other girls piped up to support the first one, a stylish blonde wearing a white sweater, something about her screamed Slytherin to Harry, and combined with the blonde hair, reminiscent of the Malfoys', Harry resolved to keep careful eye on her.</p>
<p>                “No, I think Rachel is right. This team works best when we push ourselves and do something a little different.”</p>
<p>                “When all the other teams are doing amazing songs we’re not going to be as good.” The busty black girl from the front row countered, clearly worried.</p>
<p>                “You’re right we’re not going to be as good. We’re going to be better. We won’t be using other people’s words, other people’s music, it’ll be our own. Our own hearts and soul, not just our voices. And we’ve got our own really talented song artist. Rachel, I was thinking maybe you and I could write a song together.” Harry had to admit her argument was very convincing.</p>
<p>                “I’m with Quinn and Rachel, I mean if these two could agree on something it’s probably an idea worth considering.” The tall boy chimed in.</p>
<p>                “Wait, wait, wait, so suddenly you two are writing music for Regionals? No way, I think everybody should get a chance to write a song.” The Latino girl in the jean jacket countered, clearly annoyed with the assumption that only Rachel and Quinn would be capable of writing a song.</p>
<p>                “Santana’s right. We can do this.”</p>
<p>                “What do you think, Mr. Schue?” Oh! So that was his name.</p>
<p>                “I think we’re doing original songs for Regionals!” The group clapped happily, Rachel literally gasped with happiness, and Harry wondered if her life had ever been that simple that she had actually gasped with happiness.</p>
<p>                “Now,” Mr. Schue continued, “Does anyone have a specific song they want to share?” A chorus of shaking heads “Alright, well why don’t we revive an old classic for now, to celebrate this decision! Hit it!” The piano man started playing immediately, even though the teacher had given no indication on what he wanted the man to play.</p>
<p>                The Glee club seemed to know the song immediately though, and the girls started singing right away, “You can’t always get what you want.” The rest of the club fell into it naturally and immediately, except for the blonde teenage boy with the really big lips. But even he quickly fell into the natural rhythms, even if he was obviously, at least to her, not as comfortable as the rest of them. They were all grooving in their seats, and even Harry found herself swaying along enjoying the music.</p>
<p>                When the song ended Mr., Schue began talking. “Since we’re now doing original songs I think now would be a good time to release you to start on this week’s assignment. Which is, obviously, an original song. You can write individually, in pairs, or groups if you’d like. Write what you know, good luck, and have fun!” The group happily chattered as they dispersed and Mr. Schue turned towards Harry who was still sitting.</p>
<p>                “Well, what did you think?”</p>
<p>                “Is it always that drama-filled?”</p>
<p>                “No, no of course it’s not, except when Coach Sylvester tries to sabotage us again, or when one of the kid’s relationships goes kaput, which doesn’t happen all that often...okay fairly often. But I promise we’re not intentionally drama filled.”</p>
<p>                “If I join do I have to contribute to the drama or surround myself with it or something?”</p>
<p>                “No, I can honestly say I would very much appreciate a member of Glee club not being overly dramatic.” He assured her with a warm smile.</p>
<p>                “Okay, umm I actually really liked listening to you guys sing. But I noticed that nobody used any sheet music or anything, everybody just seemed to know the song and what to do.”</p>
<p>                “We do actually use sheet music fairly often, but I find that most of the Glee kids don’t use it when it comes time to perform in front of each other. It’s good practice not to have it when we practice in Glee club because you’re not allowed to use it in actual competitions. In this case we’ve already performed that song so everybody already knew what they were supposed to do.”</p>
<p>                “Okay, so it’s alright that I don’t know that many songs, and had absolutely no idea what you were singing?”</p>
<p>                “It’s fine, but I assure you that the kids won’t let you get away with a limited music knowledge. They’ll take it upon themselves to educate you. So, are you thinking you’re going to join?”</p>
<p>                “Actually, yeah I am, it was kind of fun sitting in.”</p>
<p>                “That’s great! But you will have to audition.”</p>
<p>                “Audition?”</p>
<p>                “Yeah, it’s a group requirement, but trust me, it’s more a formality than anything. We’ve never turned anyone away before. Actually, why don’t we kill two birds with one stone, if you’d like you can write an original song and audition with that by the end of the week.”</p>
<p>                “Do I have to audition with an original song?” She asked nervously, she’d never written a song before and she had no idea how to go about writing one.</p>
<p>                “Well, no, but the assignment this week is to write an original song.  You’ll have to present one anyway; it just makes sense to combine them. If you’re nervous you can pair up with another Glee member and work together on it. They could even help prepare you for the audition.”</p>
<p>                “Do you do assignments a lot then?”</p>
<p>                “Once a week or so I give an assignment. Normally it’s something to do with a musical genre or a feeling. The kids get the week to find a song that fits the assignment, prepare it, and then at the end of the week they present it. Some of the kids present throughout the week as they complete the assignment, so they don’t have to wait until the end of the week. Of course, aside from the assignments we also use our meetings to rehearse for our competitions. It’s nearly Regionals actually, so we’ll be doing a lot of work to get ready for that right now.”</p>
<p>                “Umm I literally just joined Glee club; do I have to participate in Regionals?”</p>
<p>                “Not if you don’t feel you’re ready. It might actually just be a good experience for you to join in with the practices as you can, and then watch us perform.”</p>
<p>                “That sounds great, thank you.”</p>
<p>                “No problem. Now go, enjoy the rest of your day, and let me know if you have any questions.”</p>
<p>                “I will, thanks again.” She smiled at him, and waved at the piano player. She made a note to herself that she would have to stop and talk to him soon. It was always best to know all the players, she thought, as she left the Glee room.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Place of Pain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>XXXXXXXXX</p><p>                After the debacle that was their first song-writing workshop Harry had begun to reconsider Glee club. Seriously, “Trouty Mouth”? That girl was a bully and no one seemed to care. It bothered Harry a great deal, she’d spent her childhood defined by bullies, and no one could deny that the Malfoys were bullies as well. Granted the Malfoys had taken it past high school bullying into something a great deal more deadly. Her life so far had left Harry with an undeniable hatred of bullies and the damage that they caused. When confronted with a situation where it was accepted and even expected by the rest of her teammates that Santana would bully other students, Harry took a long hard look at how much she desired to fit in and be invisible at McKinley.</p><p>                It was perhaps lucky that the following song, “Big Ass Heart” was so well-received by everybody, including the girl that it was about, and that the author, Puck, had used it to apologize for a prior song choice that had hurt another girl’s feelings. Because otherwise she would have written off the whole lot of them as useless bullies, the very act of trying to fix the problem by Puck meant that there was something redeemable about him. Harry would keep an eye on the situation. As she struggled to decide whether having a safe place to hide here in anonymity was worth standing by as people were bullied.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                “What’s your favourite song of all time?” Mr. Schue asked the room.</p><p>                “My Headband” Brittany answered immediately. Harry knew she wasn’t very musically knowledgeable, but was there really a song called ‘My Headband’?</p><p>                “Alanis Morisette’s ‘You ought to know.’”</p><p>                “’What’s Going On’ Marvin Gaye”</p><p>                “And what are all the songs about?” Mr. Schue questioned, clearly trying to prove a point.</p><p>                “Headbands.” Harry couldn’t decide if Brittany was odd like Luna, seeing and hearing things no one else could, or if she was just simple.</p><p>                “All these songs come from a place of pain. The greatest songs are about hurt and that’s the side of yourselves I want you to get in touch with.”</p><p>                “That should be easy. Coach Sylvester tortures us for no reason, and tries to get the entire school to hate us.”</p><p>                “Yesterday she filled Britt’s and my locker with dirt.” She sounded like a crazed Severus Snape or Umbridge. How was she getting away with this?</p><p>                “Okay, okay, slow down.” He ran to a whiteboard to start writing down ideas.</p><p>                “Well she literally throws sticks at me.” And she hasn’t been fired yet? Harry thought shocked.</p><p>                “Okay, okay what else?”</p><p>                “She called the Ohio secretary of state saying she was me and that I legally wanted to change my name to Tina Cohen-Loser” Seriously? Was this woman on drugs? How was she getting away with this?</p><p>                “Okay, and how does that make you feel?”</p><p>                “Well at first it hurts but then it kind of makes you want to win.”               </p><p>                “Guys, I think you may have just found your song.” The group smiled proud of themselves.</p><p>                The rest of the team chattered happily as they got to work trying to write. Harry sat quietly off to the side, her own notebook in her lap, as she tried to consider what she wanted to write for her song. Mr. Schue clearly wanted it to be from a place of pain, but Harry felt that she was little more than pain. Little more than a bone-deep ache of loneliness, and sorrow, and pain, and scars both emotional and physical that went so deep that she’d never get rid of them. She was nothing but pain, but how could she even begin to put that on the page. How could she sing of her pain in front of people? There was so much that she had kept locked inside of her since she was a child. Nobody wanted a broken saviour, so she had hidden her pain from the time she had entered the Wizarding world at age 11. She was the queen of repressing and if she wouldn’t even share it with her closest friends, how could she possibly begin to share it with these strangers?</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                The Regionals Competition was amazing. Harry sat in the audience the whole time and watched. She’d never thought that the New Directions could be so good.</p><p>                The next day when the Glee Club members gathered to practice Harry was already waiting in the room, the first to arrive. She was nervous about auditioning, but she figured it was always better to get things out of the way, no point in dragging out the inevitable after all. She congratulated the members as they arrived. And they smiled at her, but there was none of the easy camaraderie that existed between them. But that was just her life after all. She’d always been on the outside looking in, no matter how hard she tried. She never felt like she belonged, always kept her true self hidden.</p><p>                The MVP award for Rachel Berry had been a nice touch. And there was no doubt that Rachel had done the majority of the work in the performance, singing lead for both songs, and she had written the one song entirely by herself. It was heart-warming for Harry to see somebody singled out and appreciated for their hard work in a way that made that person feel better instead of feeling like some kind of spectacle as she always had. Harry didn’t join in on the group hug. She stayed in her seat and watched instead, not feeling confident in the likelihood of their acceptance of her joining in. And that wasn’t even counting the fact that she was still incredibly leery of touching other people and having other people touch her.</p><p>                “I know we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us for Nationals. But it’s about time to let our newest Glee Member audition for us. Harry if you would just come up to the front.” She rose from her seat and went to stand in front of the audience.</p><p>                “What have you picked to sing for us?” He asked, a reassuring smile on his face.</p><p>                “Well since you were really pushing the original song idea this week, I’ve written my own song to sing.”</p><p>                “Great! And do you have music for the band or the piano?”</p><p>                “No, I have no idea how to write sheet music, so I figured I could just, you know, do it by myself without instruments.”</p><p>                “Alright then, good luck!” He sat down next to the other Glee members. She closed her eyes for a moment to centre herself, drew upon the training that she had received during her marriage to steady the outward signs of her nerves and began.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>They tell you who you are</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How you must be</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They tell you that fear is for cowards</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And you must always be brave</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That tears are a weakness</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Beneath us</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They tell you who you are</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But they cannot see</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They cannot see you, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>they see who they want</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Be you, don’t let go of you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Let them have their mask</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But don’t let them define you, confine you, malign you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Listen to your heart</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Listen to your heart beat</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re afraid </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If the end seems somehow too far to go</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t give up, don’t stop</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You can do it</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stand strong, walk talk</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t let them see you fall</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Alone and afraid, don’t let them see</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Scared and confused</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That’s all you’ll be</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They’ll never know</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How far you’ll go</em>
</p><p>
  <em>To not let them see</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t let them see</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Give them their hero</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even if you feel like a zero</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re afraid </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If the end seems somehow too far to go</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t give up, don’t stop</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You can do it</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stand strong, walk talk</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t let them see you fall</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Being alone isn’t bad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No one to let you down</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No one to hold you back</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No one to hold your hand</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No one to care</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re afraid </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If the end seems somehow too far to go</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t give up, don’t stop</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You can do it</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stand strong, walk talk</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t let them see you fall</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>So, stand strong</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Walk tall</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t let them see you fall</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When you’re afraid, when you’re alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Listen to your heartbeat</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You’re still here, you’re still here</em>
</p><p> </p><p>                Harry finished her song, pausing for a breath, afraid that she’d somehow screwed up majorly. But she maintained her calm demeanour as she gave a mini bow. She was almost startled by the applause; Harry hadn’t thought that they liked it based on the way they had watched her throughout it. They had had these serious concerned looks on their faces the whole time, as if she wasn’t good enough for them to warrant letting in. Perhaps she would be the first person ever rejected from the Glee Club.</p><p>                But they applauded her and she looked at them, confused. The applause wasn’t deafening, but it didn’t sound like pity applause either. It was just, normal, she guessed.</p><p>                “I think that I speak for everybody when I say, welcome to the New Directions.” Mr. Schue enthusiastically said, planting a bright smile on his face and clapping loudly, even still Harry could tell that he wasn’t actually happy. His eyes were far too serious for that, and considering how often she had seen the man genuinely happy throughout the week it was easy to spot the difference.</p><p>                “Harry, are you okay?” Tina said suddenly.</p><p>                “Of course, I am. Why would you ask?”</p><p>                “It’s just that you’re crying.” She brought her hand up to her face startled to feel the tears there.</p><p>                “Oh, I hadn’t realized.”</p><p>                “Why don’t you take a seat, Harry, and I’ll carry on.” Mr. Schue smiled at her in concern, gesturing to the seats; she nodded, trying to stop the flow of tears now that she realized they were there.</p><p>                As Harry took her seat Mr. Schue started talking but she wasn’t really listening.</p><p>                “Hey, Harry?”</p><p>                “Yeah, Mercedes?”</p><p>                “Want to come to the Lima Bean with me and some of the other Glee clubbers after this?”</p><p>                “Sure, I’ve love to.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                The Lima Bean was a quaint little coffee shop; it was like it was trying to be a Starbucks without actually being one. Harry had never really had the opportunity to just hang out at such a place before. But she supposed it was a little like the Three Broomsticks with the way it filled up with students from the high school. Harry ordered a coffee, double double, relishing the sweet richness of it.</p><p>                “I would have thought because you were British you’d be having tea.”</p><p>                “Americans can never get tea right. I gave up on getting tea within a week of arriving in the states.”</p><p>                “It’s tea, how can we possibly screw up tea that much? You just mix boiling water and a tea bag, it’s not complicated.”</p><p>                “Yes, that’s the problem, everyone thinks that. They have no idea the proper temperature of water to use, or how long to let it steep, or when to add things to it, or whether or not to swish the teabag about. There are many critical steps in properly brewing tea and I have yet to encounter anyone here who even begins to understand that.”</p><p>                “Tea snob.”</p><p>                “Of course.”</p><p>                “Okay, okay, so other than your obvious tea snobbery, we want to know more about you. Tell us about yourself!”</p><p>                “I don’t know what to tell you.”</p><p>                “Who’s your favourite female singer?” Rachel questioned.</p><p>                “Um Lulu.”</p><p>                “Who’s Lulu?” Mike asked.</p><p>                “Lulu is a British pop-singer, who’s been successful since the 1960’s.  Although she was originally part of the group <em>The Luvers, </em>she ended up going solo after a few years. Sporting several hits such as “Shout” and “Boom Bang-a-Bang.” She is also well known for her iconic role in the movie “To Sir With Love.” In which she played Barbara ‘Babs’ Pegg, and in which she sang the hit song, ‘To Sir With Love’.” Rachel rambled off, pleased with her superior knowledge.</p><p>                “How in the world do you know all of that?” Finn asked, shocked.</p><p>                “Please, it’s me. Now, Harry, why is Lulu your favourite female artist? She’s rather obscure, not as amazing as say Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, or Katy Perry?” Rachel questioned curious at the odd choice.</p><p>                “And let’s not forget Aretha Franklin.” Mercedes piped in.</p><p>                “I’m so going to regret saying this, but I don’t actually know who those singers are. I only know Lulu because Mrs. Number Six next door to where I used to live had an obsession with her and would listen to her ridiculously loudly whenever she was drunkenly cleaning her house.” Shocked expressions met her announcement. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>                “Do you know any music at all?” Rachel demanded.</p><p>                “Not really. It wasn’t very big in my house when I was growing up. I didn’t get into listening to it, or the radio or anything like that.”</p><p>                “But it’s music! It’s everywhere! How do you not know these things?” Mercedes asked seeming horrified.</p><p>                “It’s Britain, it’s a different culture. It’s very possible to not know music if you don’t actively seek it out. I assure you that there were never any Glee clubs prowling the halls and randomly bursting into song at my old school. I didn’t listen to the radio, when the television was on it was only for the news, action shows, or cooking shows. I wasn’t allowed to use my family’s computer. I just never really spent much time considering music.”</p><p>                “Blasphemy. It is now my solemn duty to introduce you to the world of music that you have been so sadly lacking. Rachel insisted.</p><p>                “You make it sound like I’ve never heard of math or something. I get that it’s weird that I don’t know much about music, but it’s not that big of a deal.”</p><p>                “You are so very wrong. In the famous words of Bono ‘music can change the world because it can change people.’ And Jimi Hendrix said that ‘music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.’ Music is an important part of everyday life. It is through music that we reach out to each other, change each other, and change ourselves.” Rachel’s impassioned speech seemed to have inspired her fellow Glee clubbers.</p><p>                “Music is an expression of our inner selves; it brings who we are into the light of day! If not for music I would be a very different person.” Mercedes continued on.</p><p>                “I’d still be faking a stutter and not have any friends if we didn’t have Glee club, and we wouldn’t have Glee club if not for music.” Tina pointed out, and Harry internally questioned why in the world Tina would have faked a stutter.</p><p>                “Okay, okay, I get it. Music is super important and I am a failure for not knowing any.”</p><p>                “Well not a failure per se, but definitely uneducated. But don’t worry; we’ll fix that right away. I’m going to create a list of songs and artists every week that you absolutely need to listen to and you can just download it and listen to it on your iPod.”</p><p>                “No, I can’t.”</p><p>                “Why not? It’s a perfectly reasonable idea.”</p><p>                “Because I don’t have an iPod. And even if I did my parents wouldn’t let me use the computer for something like that. “</p><p>                “You don’t have an iPod?”</p><p>                “What part of ‘I don’t know any music at all’ did you not grasp?”</p><p>                “I just assumed that you would have an iPod, everyone has an iPod.”</p><p>                “Well, I don’t, and I’m sorry but I won’t be spending the money to buy one anytime soon. I’ve got car repairs to pay for.”</p><p>                “Okay, okay, that just means that you will have to spend more time at our houses getting your music lessons.”</p><p>                “That sounds reasonable.” Harry conceded.</p><p>                “Great! I’ll get started creating your first week’s music history homework tonight. You can come over to my house this weekend and I can give you your music history lesson and then we can work on improving your voice, it will need to be much better for Nationals.”</p><p>                “Ummm sure, whatever you say, Rachel.”</p><p>                “Great!” Mercedes broke in before Rachel could unleash another idea on the table. “So, Harry, did you leave a boyfriend behind in Britain?” Harry froze, not expecting the question. How did she answer this? She was married, and that was technically not a boyfriend, but it was also technically a relationship. No, she had to say no, if she said yes there would be too many questions and she was nowhere near ready enough to even begin thinking of her, shudder, <em>husband. </em></p><p>                “No, no boyfriend.”</p><p>                “Any boys you were crushing on?” Harry sighed, there had been, once, it felt like such a very long time ago. Once that crush had left her feeling like a happy normal girl for the first time ever, but now thinking back on it just made her sad.</p><p>                “Not, not in a while.”</p><p>                “That sounds like there’s a story here.”</p><p>                “No story.”</p><p>                “Oh come on! Tell us! We’ll just keep bugging you until you give us the gossip!”</p><p>                “I said there’s no story.”</p><p>                “If there’s no story than why aren’t you talking about it? Just give us the facts, what's his name, what does he look like, what's he like, how did you meet, why did your crush end. The basics.”</p><p>                “Drop it.”</p><p>                “Harry!” the girls whined in unison. Harry couldn’t take this; she’d been emotionally compromised since the thought of Malfoy had entered her head. And she couldn’t stand this. She just needed them to stop, needed to make them shut up and leave it alone forever.</p><p>                “Fine! His name was Fred, he was tall and freckled and had red-hair and the most infectious grin you’d ever seen, he was a prankster of the highest degree but he was also a really caring individual. He took care of the younger students whenever he could, and he was fiercely protective of his family. He was my best mate’s older brother; I’d known him since I was eleven. And I’d say my crush ended ten months ago when he died saving his brother from a collapsing brick wall. Now if you’ll excuse me, this conversation is done and I am leaving.” Harry stood up, grabbing her bag, leaving her coffee nearly half-full on the table, and walking purposely away, trying to prevent the tears she could feel stinging her eyes from falling.</p><p>                “Harry! Wait! I’m really sorry!” Tina had stood up to follow her, make her stop leaving, Harry guessed, but all she could focus on was Tina’s hand gripping her arm so that she couldn’t leave.</p><p>                “Let go of my arm.”</p><p>                “Harry, I don’t think it’s safe for you to drive like this. You’re really upset.”</p><p>                “Let go of my arm or I will cut your hand off. Am I clear?” Tina dropped her arm as if it was burning her. Harry strode out of the coffee shop before anyone else could stop her. Once she got outside she didn’t hesitate before running to her car, climbing inside, and speeding home.</p><p>                Once she arrived at her tiny run-down one-room apartment Harry immediately flung herself into the tiny closet by the front door. She settled herself onto the nest of blankets she had created, curled into a ball, and rocked herself back and forth trying to convince herself that she was still just a kid locked in the cupboard under the stairs and none of this terrible shit had happened to her.</p><p>                She failed miserably, Fred’s dead face and Malfoy’s creepy possessive leer, which had always preceded his painful violating her, swirling together behind her closed eyelids. Her panic attack lasted long into the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Night of Neglect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                Even Harry could tell that Mr. Schue’s latest scheme was terrible. Sure, they needed money to go to Nationals, something that Harry felt should have been covered, at least partially, by the school itself, but to try to sell 20,000 pieces of saltwater taffy was, quite frankly, insane.</p><p>                “Do you honestly believe we can sell 20,000 anything? I mean we won Regionals for the first time since the dinners roamed the earth and I still got a cherry Icee facial.” Santana complained.</p><p>                “Santana is right, nobody cares about us.”</p><p>                “I can’t listen to this.” Mike got up to storm off.</p><p>                “Mike, are you okay?”</p><p>                “No, you guys complain all the time about being mistreated, but you guys have no idea what it’s like to work your butt off all the time and have everyone even your friends ignore you. Artie, Tina, Brittany, and I are on the Brainiacs.”</p><p>                “Wait isn’t that the Academic Decathlon team?”</p><p>                “We have one of those?”</p><p>                “Yes, and the four of us went on the Smarty Pants Show and beat Caramel High to go to the Academic Decathlon trials in Detroit next week.”</p><p>                “So, you guys were on TV? Why didn’t you tell any of us about it?”</p><p>                “We did!”</p><p>                “Wait I get the three of you being on the team.” Mr. Schue began.</p><p>                “Is it because two of them are Asian and Artie wears glasses?” Puck questioned.</p><p>                “No.” He responded to Puck’s idea, “but Brittany...” Mr. Schue trailed off, perhaps realizing how offensive his words were and not wanting to vocalize his idea, but even still Harry thought it was incredibly insensitive. Who was to say that Brittany didn’t have a secret wealth of knowledge and she just needed the right environment to let it shine? Brittany reminded Harry rather forcibly of Luna who had had the same problem of putting the wrong information out at the wrong time but who had been incredibly brilliant. It made Harry rather protective of the strange blonde girl everyone seemed to think was an idiot.</p><p>                “Liz Schneider was our fourth but she got Rubella.” Mike explained to Mr. Schue’s unasked question.</p><p>                “Her parents are hippies who don’t believe in vaccinations.”</p><p>                “Brittany was the only one we could find on short notice. We bribed her with DOTS. That Sunshine Corazon, who Rachel sent to a crack house, was on the other team.”</p><p>                “She would have beaten us but luckily we had our secret weapon: Brittany. That girl knows everything there is to know about cat diseases.”</p><p>                “Sadly, we can’t afford to go the finals so we’re going to have to forfeit.”</p><p>                “Why don’t you just have your parents pay for it.” Right, Harry thought, like everybody has parents that can pay for it or would pay for it. If she’d ever asked Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia for money to go on a trip they would have laughed in her face. And her parents were too dead to pay. Christ that Rachel girl was insensitive.</p><p>                “Because we shouldn’t have to. We’re a school club, the school should pay for it. It’s a matter of pride.”</p><p>                “You guys are absolutely right. How much do you need to make the trip?”</p><p>                “With gas and hotels, and if we only eat Funions, $250.”</p><p>                “Which means, we just need to sell more taffy.” Mr. Schue exclaimed, excited at having the solution to the Brainiacs problem, and apparently eager to encourage the other Glee-clubbers to get busy selling taffy. </p><p>                “That doesn’t count as the school paying for it though.” Harry pointed out.</p><p>                “You’re right, Harry, but since we can’t get any money for Glee club to go to Nationals, then I doubt that they’re going to get the money to go to Detroit. This is a compromise, their parents aren’t forced to pay, and they still get to go.”</p><p>                “Yeah, but only with extra work for them. It’s not like they’re even asking that much. Look I get why Glee Club isn’t really being funded. We’re asking for a ton of money. The Academic Decathlon is asking for a pittance, and if they got to go they would make the school look good. I’m just saying that this school’s funding is really messed up and it bugs me.”</p><p>                “Okay, it’s noted. But we can’t fight city hall.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                “I’ve been thinking about all of your complaints yesterday, about how selling taffy is a lot of hard work, and it’s going to require a lot of sales. So, I’ve come up with a better plan. It’s a benefit night, called A Night of Neglect. It’ll be a performance that we put on in the auditorium, and we’ll sell tickets to it to help raise money for the trips! And the best part! We’re only going to do songs by neglected artists!”</p><p>                Blank stares from the kids greeted Mr. Schue’s enthusiastic announcement.</p><p>                “Because it’s A Night of Neglect.” Mr. Schue tried to explain.</p><p>                “Can you define what you mean by neglected artist?” Rachel questioned.</p><p>                “Umm someone whose brilliance isn’t always appreciated.”</p><p>                “Oh, so you mean someone like me.” Rachel responded arrogantly, nearly everyone shot her disdainful looks. Even if her brilliance wasn’t always appreciated it’s just too damn egotistical to point that out.</p><p>                “I mean like all of us. Alright everyone, next Saturday night in our auditorium McKinley High’s first annual Night of Neglect fundraiser benefit is officially a go!”</p><p>                The bell rang and the students began to scatter.</p><p>                “This is going to be really good for you Harry!” Rachel told her as they walked down the hallway towards their classrooms.</p><p>                “Oh. Umm why?”</p><p>                “Well, it’s going to give you a chance to practice in front of an audience performing without the stress of nationals and it’ll hopefully prevent you from screwing up at Nationals because it won’t be your first time on stage. We’ve worked too hard to let inexperience stop us now.”</p><p>                “Oh, umm I guess that’s good. I don’t intend to screw up the performance though.”</p><p>                “No, you wouldn’t intend it, and it’s not like you’re going to have a solo or anything. I mean your voice is good but it’s not that good. But it wouldn’t do any of us any good if you suddenly find out you have stage fright for the first time at Nationals.”</p><p>                “Noted. I promise I’ll work really hard. And it wasn’t like I was looking to do solos anyway. I just wanted to make friends.”</p><p>                “Friends have no place in a competition.”</p><p>                “Okay umm noted. I’ll just be an, I don’t know, acquaintance then. I guess.”</p><p>                “A teammate, Harry, you’ll be a teammate. And there’s no I in team so don’t you dare screw this up for me.”</p><p>                “I’ll do my best.” Harry reassured Rachel, nodding her head enthusiastically, and beginning to back away slowly from the crazy that was Rachel Berry.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                “So, who are you guys doing?”</p><p>                “I’m doing a song by Lykke Li.” Tina replied.</p><p>                “Mike Chang, Dance Dance Revolution. I’m tired of my dancing being overshadowed by your guys singing. It’s just going to be me and my sweet sweet moves on that stage.” The group laughed.</p><p>                “What about you, Harry? Who are you doing?”</p><p>                “I have literally no idea. I don’t know any neglected artists. I barely know the really really famous ones.”</p><p>                “That just won’t do. Tina, you and me are gonna hook this little white girl up with a neglected artist to match her neglected music knowledge.”</p><p>                “I think I know just the thing.” Tina responded, “But we’ve got to test this out. Come over to my place after school tonight and we can try it out.”</p><p>                “Sure, I’d love to. Thanks!” Harry responded happily, she was finally making friends, she was starting to blend in. “Who are you planning on Mercedes?”</p><p>                “You’re all forgetting about the most neglected artist this glee club has ever seen Aretha Franklin.”</p><p>                “Neglected? She’s like the Queen of Soul!”</p><p>                “See, I auditioned for this club singing “Respect” and she’s got none since. So I’m doing Aretha.”</p><p>                “Awesome Mercedes, awesome all of you guys. Those songs are great appetizers to my main course Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” It’s going to be our finale.” Rachel informed them.</p><p>                “What!” Mike squeaked.</p><p>                “It’s like the biggest song of all time.”</p><p>                “No, you don’t understand, Celine isn’t the neglected artist. I am”</p><p>                “I was kind of hoping to do the closing number.” Mercedes countered clearly annoyed.</p><p>                “Hey, you guys remember Sunshine Corazon?” Finn interrupted everybody before Mercedes and Rachel could start really fighting.</p><p>                The entire Glee club ran off to the auditorium to confront some girl named Sunshine. Turns out that she wanted to help out and sing in the Night of Neglect. Everyone was oddly suspicious, none more so than Rachel. But at the thought that the girl might be able to actually get people to come they turned their opinion around faster than speeding bullet.</p><p>                Except of course, for Rachel. But apparently Rachel had sent the girl to a crack-house at some point, which just made Harry more confused than before. Who does that to someone? What the hell kind of people were in this Glee Club? Why was she excited to be making friends with them again?</p><p>                It didn’t take long for Harry to figure out that Rachel felt extremely threatened by how good Sunshine was and had tried to eliminate the competition by whatever means necessary. But Rachel was governed almost entirely by her ambition, which isn’t a bad trait per se, but it meant she was a Slytherin. And Harry knew better than to get between a Slytherin and whatever their ambition was. Harry supposed it was a good thing that Rachel had already deemed her little more than a weak link to be fixed up before Nationals, rather than an actual competitor for singing parts.</p><p>                Regardless of Rachel’s Slytherin-like suspicion and disapproval the Glee club agreed to let Sunshine be part of the benefit night. Of course, Rachel insisted that she take the second-most important position, once again forcing Mercedes to give up the position she wanted.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                Tina, Mercedes and Harry ended up at Tina’s house that night.</p><p>                “So what singer were you thinking?”</p><p>                “Have you ever heard of Gordon Lightfoot?”</p><p>                “That sounds like a man’s name. My voice isn’t like a man’s voice is it?” Harry questioned, surprisingly concerned at the thought.</p><p>                “Trust me, you don’t sound like a man. But I haven’t heard of him either.”</p><p>                “Gordon Lightfoot is a singer-songwriter, he is, or rather was, internationally successful. He’s been credited with helping define the folk-pop sound of the 60’s and 70’s.”</p><p>                “Then why haven’t I ever heard of him if he’s such a big deal?” Mercedes questioned.</p><p>                “Because he’s Canadian.”</p><p>                “Then why have you heard of him?”</p><p>                “I’ve got a cousin that’s Canadian. She wouldn’t shut up about meeting him this summer.”</p><p>                “Okay, great, that’s a lot of useful information, but he’s still a man, and I’m a girl.”</p><p>                “Yeah, you are, but you can sing his songs a little higher. I honestly think his folk sound is the right way to go for you.”</p><p>                “Why?”</p><p>                “Okay, maybe because you couldn’t actually see your audition you wouldn’t get it. But you cried as you sang. Actually cried, not in the way that Rachel does where she’s so impressed with how good she is. But you were clearly emotionally connecting with that song on a very deep level. I think if we can get you doing folk songs you can continue to connect to them which instantly makes your performances better.”</p><p>                “She’s right. Also, your voice is pretty decent, but you haven’t had any formal training or experience, and folk keeps you away from any real hard notes, it’s more melodious like that song you wrote. I think it would be easier for you to do than anything else.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                The Glee club was gathered backstage doing vocal warm-ups for the show when Santana stormed in, cell-phone clutched in her hand.</p><p>                “Huddle up, this just in, according to Sunshine’s twitter she’s not coming and neither are any of her followers.”</p><p>                “I told you, she’s evil!”</p><p>                “I was just in the auditorium there’s like six people in there. I say we blow this whole thing off and go hit up the arcade.”</p><p>                “No, no screw that! These people paid to see us sing! What’s that saying ‘the show’s gotta go all over the place’ or something.”</p><p>                “You mean ‘the show must go on.’ Finn’s right you guys, whether there’s six or six thousand people out there we still have to give it our all. Okay, Tina you’re up first.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                Even from backstage they could hear the people heckling and booing Tina. Tina’s voice began to falter and halfway through the song she left the stage. She ended up backstage in tears.</p><p>                “It’s the worst I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”</p><p>                “I didn’t think it was possible for people to hate us even more. But we’re calling this off.”</p><p>                “Guys, I hate to say it, but I think we need to buck up. Tina I’m sorry that you had to go through it. But it’s actually a really good lesson for us. It’s a part of show business guys. Sometimes people can be really mean. Think about what’ s going to happen if we have an unfriendly crowd in New York. And I’m sure there’s going to be some Vocal Adrenaline supporters there too. We need to find some strength and make our way through this. I think I may know a way to shut those hecklers up for a minute or two.”</p><p>                The plan to give out saltwater taffy to the hecklers worked brilliantly for Mike’s performance. And Harry had to admit from the wings his performance had been breath-taking. She just wished she could have seen it from the audience.</p><p>                However, by the time that Harry took the stage, right after Mike but right before intermission, the saltwater taffy scheme stopped working. She could hear their heckling calls from the audience as she walked onto the stage.</p><p>                “Up next is our newest Glee Club member: Jessica “Harry” Williams! She will be singing “Don Quixote” by Gordon Lightfoot!” Harry approached the microphone at centre stage as the band began playing the first few notes and the heckling started.</p><p>                <strong>“You’re not good enough for Gordon!”</strong></p><p>
  <strong>                “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Through the woodland, through the valley<br/>Comes a horseman wild and free<br/>Tilting at the windmills passing<br/>Who can the brave young horseman be<br/>He is wild but he is mellow<br/>He is strong but he is weak<br/>He is cruel but he is gentle<br/>He is wise but he is meek</em>
</p><p>                “<strong>You reek!”</strong><em><br/><br/>Reaching for his saddlebag</em></p><p>
  
  <strong>“You’re a saddlebag!”</strong>
  <em><br/>He takes a battered book into his hand<br/>Standing like a prophet bold<br/>He shouts across the ocean to the shore<br/>Till he can shout no more</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>“I wish you’d sing no more!”<em><br/></em></strong>
  <em><br/>I have come o'er moor and mountain<br/>Like the hawk upon the wing<br/>I was once a shining knight<br/>Who was the guardian of a king<br/>I have searched the whole world over<br/>Looking for a place to sleep<br/>I have seen the strong survive<br/>And I have seen the lean grown weak<br/><br/>See the children of the earth<br/>Who wake to find the table bare<br/>See the gentry in the country<br/>Riding off to take the air</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>I wish you’d ride off already!</strong>
  <em><br/><br/>Reaching for his saddlebag<br/>He takes a rusty sword into his hand<br/>Then striking up a knightly pose<br/>He shouts across the ocean to the shore<br/>Till he can shout no more<br/><br/></em>
</p><p>
  <strong>You suck! Get off the stage already!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BOOOOOOOO!</strong>
  <em><br/>See the jailor with his key<br/>Who locks away all trace of sin</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>I want to lock you away! </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>You’re terrible! </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Singing this bad is criminal!</strong>
  <em><br/>See the judge upon the bench<br/>Who tries the case as best he can<br/>See the wise and wicked ones<br/>Who feed upon life's sacred fire<br/>See the soldier with his gun<br/>Who must be dead to be admired<br/><br/>See the man who tips the needle<br/>See the man who buys and sells<br/>See the man who puts the collar</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>“I wish someone would put a muzzle on you!”</strong>
</p><p>
  <em><br/>On the ones who dare not tell<br/>See the drunkard in the tavern<br/>Stemming gold to make ends meet<br/>See the youth in ghetto black<br/>Condemned to life upon the street<br/><br/>Reaching for his saddlebag<br/>He takes a tarnished cross into his hand<br/>Then standing like a preacher now<br/>He shouts across the ocean to the shore<br/>Then in a blaze of tangled hooves<br/>He gallops off across the dusty plain<br/>In vain to search again<br/>Where no one will hear<br/><br/>Through the woodland, through the valley<br/>Comes a horseman wild and free<br/>Tilting at the windmills passing<br/>Who can the brave young horseman be<br/>He is wild but he is mellow<br/>He is strong but he is weak<br/>He is cruel but he is gentle<br/>He is wise but he is meek</em>
</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                “Are you okay, Harry?”</p><p>                “Of course, I am.”</p><p>                “You’re crying.”</p><p>                “Yeah, the song made me sad.”</p><p>                “What about the hecklers?”</p><p>                “What about them? Trust me, they’re not that bad. I was actually amused by some of their insults. I’ve never heard it done that badly before.”</p><p>                “They were brutal with you!”</p><p>                “And I ignored them.”</p><p>                “Good for you Harry!” Mr. Schue commented, “But I’m not sure if everyone else has that same thick skin. So, what we need to do next is impress them so much that they just can’t heckle. So next one up is Mercedes!”</p><p>                “Mercedes isn’t here.”</p><p>                “Right, you guys go look for Mercedes, I’m going to talk to our hecklers.” Taking charge Ms. Holiday walked out of the room, expecting everyone to go to their assigned tasks.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                Once they got Mercedes to agree to perform the rest of the night went off without a hitch. The teenage hecklers had been shamed into leaving by Ms. Holiday, Ms. Holiday’s performance had been lovely, and Mercedes rendition of “Ain’t No Way” was simply breath-taking. The entire Glee club had gathered in the audience to watch her perform and Harry was once again incredibly impressed by the talent that was in this small-town high school.</p><p>                “Anybody up for a celebratory after-party?” Mercedes questioned, finally fully over her diva mood swing.</p><p>                “I don’t know.” Harry started off, unsure how she felt about being in close quarters with a group of partying teenagers. She still wasn’t comfortable with being touched, at all, and loud noises made her uneasy. It seemed like a pretty terrible idea to her.</p><p>                “Oh, Harry, you have to come!”</p><p>                “Well, where is it? I don’t like driving too far that late at night.” That was a good excuse, nobody lived near her, she was pretty sure that Santana was the closest because she was Lima Heights adjacent but that was close enough to Lima Heights that most of the other Glee clubbers weren’t too comfortable with going there. Nobody would live anywhere near her.</p><p>                “I was thinking my place, if you want you can all spend the night. My parents are out of town at a dental convention so we’d have the whole place to ourselves.” Mercedes responded happy to be hosting a big party for all of Glee.</p><p>                “I’ve got the booze!” Puck threw out excitedly.</p><p>                “Come on, Harry!” Tina tugged on her arm, “We need to celebrate! Mercedes closed the show! We raised enough money, thanks to creepy Mr. Ryerson, for the Brainiacs to go to Detroit! Ms. Holliday shut down all those haters! And you made it through your first performance in front of an audience and did great! You can’t deny it’s time to party!”</p><p>                “Okay, okay, I guess I could.” Harry hesitantly agreed, unable to think of another excuse without outright saying she didn’t want to go. She was trying to blend in here, and saying that she wasn’t interested in partying would really stand out.</p><p>                “Great! Now who needs a ride?” Mercedes exclaimed, as Harry got dragged into the last-minute party plans.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>XXXXXXXXXXX           </p><p>The couch was surprisingly comfortable especially when she compared it to how painfully uncomfortable she was in this situation, Harry noted. Everybody else had split off into two distinct groups, except for Puck and Finn who were pouring drinks in the kitchen. She’d considered leaving the couch and joining in but neither group looked particularly appealing. The Karaoke group, which had gathered around the TV, had Rachel, of course, Mercedes, Tina, Kurt, and Blaine, who were all very competitive about who got to sing what and how often each person got to sing. Harry enjoyed singing, she enjoyed the Glee club, but she wasn’t as into it as those around her. Singing and Glee mattered more to her as a place to belong, even superficially, than they did as activities on their own.</p><p> And as for the other group of Gleeks, there was no way she was joining in with them. She had nothing against strip poker, but that was for other people, people who weren’t as damaged as she was. The very thought of letting anyone see her without her clothes made her hands shake and her heart thunder, no, she was much much better off staying on the couch by herself. She took a slow sip of the rye and coke that Puck had given her, hoping that it would make her nerves die down some.</p><p>She stared down at her glass, watching the liquid in it slowly swirl, wondering if it would be rude to just leave the party and head home. If she hadn’t already started drinking she’d have already left, but now with alcohol in her system there was no way she would be driving. So, the question was whether a long walk home in the dark by herself would be better than staying here and getting slowly drunk by herself as everybody else partied around her.</p><p>She reflexively caught movement out of the corner of her seconds before a body joined her on the couch, she glanced over to see who had come to try to get her to join them, and noted that Puck was reclining back on the couch smirking at her.</p><p>“Hey.” Puck greeted her as he passed her another drink. “So, we haven’t talked much yet. I’m Puck, you’re cute. Want to make out?”</p><p>                “No, thank you.” Harry responded hesitantly. “Did you think that was going to work?”</p><p>                “Meh, has about a 60% success rate. It’s always worth a shot.”</p><p>                “Wow, that’s actually really impressive.”</p><p>                “I know, right,” he smirked, “It’s all about the Puckzilla charm.” Harry drink caught in her throat as she burst out laughing and instead started coughing. Puck hammered her back trying to help her breathe.</p><p>                “I’m good now, thanks. Did you just call yourself Puckzilla?”</p><p>                “Yeah, it’s one of my many cool nicknames.”</p><p>                “I think you need to revaluate the meaning of cool.”</p><p>                “Pssh, the Puckzilla is the epitome of cool. You just don’t know it yet.”</p><p>                “Right,” Harry sarcastically agreed with him.</p><p>                “So, why are you sitting all alone on the couch? I thought you would have grouped off by now.”</p><p>                “Grouped off?”</p><p>                “Yeah, gone with one of the two groups, you’ve got two very different choices here. On one hand you’ve got the true Gleeks, spending their party time singing karaoke. And then you’ve got some of the bigger partiers who’ve started the night off with strip-poker and will proceed to drunken make-outs, dancing on table-tops, and drinking games. So why haven’t you picked one of them yet?”</p><p>                “I’m not very good at singing, and I don’t love it the same way everyone else does. I’m sure they appreciate me not taking the microphone away from them.”</p><p>                “Okay, fair enough. I can get that; I mean I like Glee club but I don’t spend all my free time singing. So why haven’t you joined the poker-game?”</p><p>                “I’m not comfortable with strip poker.”</p><p>                “Why not? It’s just your body, what’s more natural than the human body, as bare as the day it came into the world.”</p><p>                “You’re very charming aren’t you? I bet the girls just throw themselves at you.”</p><p>                “It’s been known to happen.”</p><p>                “So why haven’t you grouped off yet?” She countered.</p><p>                “I saw a pretty girl sitting all by her lonesome on a couch. A true gentleman could never resist such a sight.”</p><p>                “I swear your nickname should be Prince Charming, not Puckzilla. You lay the charm on as thick as I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>                “Thanks, I do try.” She smiled at him, taking another sip of her drink. Their conversation paused as Mercedes rendition of <em>Turning Tables</em> silenced even the group playing poker.</p><p>                “So, you’re not going to join either group are you?”</p><p>                “Not currently, I suppose. Maybe later, but I won’t play strip-poker. I may join them if they start playing a drinking game, not one that involves stripping though.”</p><p>                “Well then I guess it’s become my mission to keep you entertained.”</p><p>                “It’s not really, I’ll be fine here.”</p><p>                “Nonsense, you’ll sit here looking pretty, bored, and awkward all night, and you won’t come out to another Glee party because you felt so bored and awkward here.”</p><p>                “That’s not necessarily true.”</p><p>                “Trust me, it’s true. Now, if we’re just going to sit here we might as well have some fun.”</p><p>                “Have fun how?”</p><p>                “I thought we could play a ‘get-to-know-you’ drinking game. It’s basically Truth or Drink, we pose questions to each other, about anything we want, and the other person can either answer the question honestly or drink.”</p><p>                “I can choose at any time to not answer any questions and all I have to do is drink instead?”</p><p>                “Yep, that’s the beauty of it.”</p><p>                “I think we might need to get some extra drinks before we get started.” She joked.</p><p>                “Oooh, mysterious. I’ll go snag some more from the kitchen and we can get started.” Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. He was nice enough, if a bit of a horn-dog. Truth-or-Drink wouldn’t be a bad way to spend an evening either. She’d just have to make sure that she didn’t get caught in a lie. Luckily years with the Dursley’s had given her a great deal of experience with lying. The best lies were the ones that had a bit of truth in them, and it was important to never get too carried away with a lie, the closer it was to the truth the easier it was to remember.</p><p>                “So, do you want to go first?” Puck asked her, flopping down on the couch after he put the rest of a six-pack of beers on the table in front of them.</p><p>                “It’s your game, why don’t you start?”</p><p>                “Right, let’s start with the basic details. Do you have any siblings?”</p><p>                “No, I’m an only child. Do you have any siblings?”</p><p>                “Yep, a little sister, her name’s Sarah, she’s nine. Are you dating anybody?”</p><p>                “No, I’m not. Do you like your sister?”</p><p>                “Hey! You were supposed to ask if I was dating anybody!”</p><p>                “Yes, but that’s what you wanted, and I don’t care if you are or aren’t. So why would I waste a question on that?”</p><p>                “Pssh, you just don’t want me to know that you want to know.”</p><p>                “Of course.” She sarcastically agreed. “Anyway, you need to answer my question.”</p><p>                “Do I like my sister? Well yeah, she’s pretty cool for a little sister, I mean sometimes I just want to put duct tape over her mouth and make her shut up. But she’s pretty chill and more often than not I’d want to keep her. Ever made out with somebody?”</p><p>                “Define made out.”</p><p>                “You know, you and your honey going hot and heavy kissing each other, some tongue, some groping, tends to last a while.”</p><p>                “No, I mean I’ve kissed before but I don’t think I’ve made out with them. What’s your favourite subject in school?”</p><p>                “Gym. How far have you gone with a guy?”</p><p>                “What does that mean?”</p><p>                “How do you not know what that means?”</p><p>                “I’m British, we use different slang. As far as I can tell you’re asking how far I’ve traveled with a guy companion. But I don’t think that’s what you mean.”</p><p>                “I meant how far sexually have you gone with a guy? Or you know, girl, if you’re into that?”</p><p>                “Right, I’m going to take a drink and when I’m done you’re going to tell me who your best friend is.”</p><p>                “You’re not going to answer?” Harry finished her gulp of rye and coke before responding.</p><p>                “The game is Truth or Drink. I chose to drink. Get over it and either answer my question or drink yourself.”</p><p>                “Fine, spoilsport. My best friend is Finn. Who’s yours?”</p><p>                “I’ve got two, Ron and Mione. Why did you join Glee club? No offense but at first glance it doesn’t seem like your type of scene.”</p><p>                “It wasn’t, I only joined because Quinn did. Why did you join Glee?”</p><p>                “I was having trouble making friends, it made Ms. Pillsbury worried so she recommended that I join a club or team, and she really pushed Glee and it seemed nice enough. So, were you dating Quinn when you joined Glee? Because I don’t get the ex’s vibe off of you.”</p><p>                “She was dating Finn at the time. Who’s your favourite superhero?”</p><p>                “The Doctor. Who’s yours?”</p><p>                “Batman. I’ve never heard of the Doctor, what are his powers? Tell me about him.”</p><p>                “He’s a time-travelling alien, a Timelord, from the planet Gallifrey. He zips through time and space in his TARDIS, a time machine that resembles a 1950’s police box on the outside, saving people and planets and having grand adventures. He’s the last of his kind, having lived through a war, and his past haunts him. To escape from his past he is constantly running, from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, time to time. He almost always has a companion travelling with him, typically human, and it makes him happy and gives him a purpose to show them around the universe. A particular quirk of his species is that when he dies his body regenerates and he becomes somebody new, still the Doctor with the same memories as the Doctor, but with a different body and different personality quirks and wardrobe. There’s a lot of history to the Doctor, considering the show started over forty years ago.”</p><p>                “It’s a cartoon?”</p><p>                “Nope, it’s live action.”</p><p>                “Are the special effects any good?”</p><p>                “I don’t know. I love the story line and characters but I’ve never actually seen an episode.”</p><p>                “I don’t understand. How do you know the story line and everything about it if you’ve never seen an episode?”</p><p>                “I went to a remote boarding school that didn’t allow TV or other electronics; we didn’t have internet access or anything. To help deal with the technology withdrawal a lot of the students got their families to watch their favourite shows and send them letters telling them what happened in each episode. Doctor Who, the show the Doctor is from, was Mione’s favourite show. Her mom would watch the show and would send several page long letters describing each episode in great detail. It was tradition that whenever Mione got a letter in the mail about it we would all gather in the common room and listen to it being read out loud.”</p><p>                “I’m going to be honest here. Your boarding school sounds terrible.” Harry laughed, loudly, attracting the attention of the other people at the party, most giving her a funny look before turning back to their activities, Santana glared at her though, and Harry wondered what she had done to anger the other girl.</p><p>                “So, my turn to ask a question. Why is Batman your favourite superhero?”</p><p>                “He’s just a regular guy, no superpowers, and yet he stands shoulder to shoulder with all the superheroes with actual powers, like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. I mean, yeah he’s got money and money is like a superpower, but all of his cool tech that he uses as batman was actually designed by him. He made himself into a superhero, and his mission as Batman is to make Gotham a better place. He’s not interested in making a name for himself; he’s interested in protecting his city. He’s a major league superhero and yet you still see him haunting Gotham at night and taking down petty criminals, and murderers, and rapists, and crime rings. Sure, he’ll go after major criminal activities and he’ll defend the Earth, and America, and all of that. But deep down he’s interested in protecting what he views as his. And he is constantly focused on doing so, even when he’s Bruce Wayne, nothing and nobody will stand in his way of doing his job. On top of all of that he’s got this moral code, he won’t take a human life or allow somebody to die through inaction. And when he says he’s going to do something he does it. He doesn’t allow himself to coast through life riding on his powers, because he doesn’t really have any, or his wealth, because he knows that won’t make him happy or the world better. He’s like the best person in the entire superhero world. He’s responsible and he has made his life around the responsibilities that he has accepted. Also, he can take down any superhero or villain he encounters, even those with god-like powers.”</p><p>                “I did not know any of that. But I like what you said about him. I’ve always thought that those who fought even though there was nothing special about them, deserved acclaim more than those who are special and fight because it’s expected of them. Because people who are ordinary can just walk away from terrible situations and nobody will condemn them for it, it’s even expected of them. So, when they don’t do that, when they stand up and say that something isn’t right and they won’t accept it. It’s probably the most amazing thing ever.”</p><p>                “If you’re such a big fan of those without anything special about them standing up for what they believe is right, what do you think of those with powers who do the same?”</p><p>                “To be honest, I pity them.”</p><p>                “You pity them?”</p><p>                “Yes.”</p><p>                “But why? I mean I don’t get it; they’ve got these awesome powers and they get to use them and people love them! Why in the hell would you pity them?”</p><p>                “People with powers, with an advantage, are expected to fight for the <em>greater good </em>but that doesn’t mean they want to. Who wants to risk their safety, their very life, day after day? Just because you have powers doesn’t mean you can’t die, or be hurt. Just because you have powers doesn’t mean that you don’t want to have what everybody else has; other people who will stick up for them and protect them. And the public’s love can just as easily turn to hate. At the end of the day how does being a hero make any super-powered person’s life better?”</p><p>                “I imagine the lack of super-villains and world-wide tyranny is nice.”</p><p>                “The rise of super-villains can be directly tied to the rise of super-heroes. If there are no super-heroes than villains do not need to go above and beyond creating greater powers and weapons in order to achieve their goals. In addition, law and order already exists in most societies, by having heroes taking matters into their own hands they actually endanger those whose job it is to protect society. A super-powered battle is only going to endanger those who are formally tasked with keeping everybody safe. In the end a super-powered hero fights a war on two fronts, firstly against the villains who want to eliminate them and secondly against the law itself who cannot allow vigilantes to take the law into their own hands.”</p><p>                “You’ve given this some thought.”</p><p>                “Yeah, I suppose I have. Anyway, I believe it’s my turn to ask you a question. So, what’s your favourite food?”</p><p>                “Matzo ball soup, it has to be completely home-made from scratch, otherwise it sucks. You?”</p><p>                “It’s a toss-up between steak and kidney pie and treacle tart. I guess it depends on my mood. Favourite book?”</p><p>                “<em>Anna Karenina</em>. Yours?”</p><p>                “<em>My Side of the Mountain. </em>What’s your favourite place in the world?”</p><p>                “The football field. You?”</p><p>                “My friend Hagrid’s house. Why the football field?”</p><p>                “When I’m on the football field it’s like I’m king of the world, I can do no wrong and everyone can see exactly how awesome I am. Why your friend’s place?”</p><p>                “Hagrid’s one of my favourite people in the whole world, he always has time to listen to you, and he genuinely cares about everyone around him. It’s like a little bundle of safe and calm in a hectic world. His house is always a little too warm, his dog way too drooly, the rock-cakes too much like real rock, and the food slightly charred. But it’s genuine and caring and just peaceful in a way that nothing else is.”</p><p>                “Do I want to know what rock-cakes are?”</p><p>                “They’re like a cookie that is meant to look like a rock but obviously not be as hard as a rock. So, favourite hobby?”</p><p>                “Playing my Xbox. Have you ever had sex?” Harry took a large gulp of her drink, avoiding eye-contact. “Dude, seriously? You’re just going to leave me hanging here?”</p><p>                “I don’t feel like indulging your base desires with an answer.” She answered, tipping her chin up and using her most pompous voice. “Now, what’s your favourite animal?”</p><p>                “That’s a terrible segue.”</p><p>                “I thought it was a fine question, you’ve just got one thing on your mind.” She sniffed haughtily before busting out into drunken giggles while Puck pouted at her.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                “Yo, Puck, it’s seven minutes in heaven time. You going to join or are you going to keep hanging out here like a loser?” Santana stormed over and demanded, clearly drunk. Puck glanced over at Harry; they’d been having a good conversation but everyone was wary of Santana for good reason.</p><p>                “Go ahead, Puck. I’ll be fine. Go have fun.” Puck smiled at her gratefully before letting Santana pull him off the couch and over to the group.</p><p>                Harry took a long sip of her drink, and tried to convince herself that she wasn’t annoyed at Santana for interrupting one of the few conversations, especially getting to know each other conversations, that Harry had enjoyed since moving to Lima. </p><p>                Out of the corner of her eye Harry tracked Kurt approaching her couch, and she wondered absently, with the blessed relaxation of being drunk, why he would want to talk to her.</p><p>                “Hello,”</p><p>                “Hiya,” She responded glancing up at him from her position on the couch, she felt even shorter than normal.</p><p>                “Mind if I join you?”</p><p>                “Go ahead.” Kurt primly sat on the sofa next to her, and Harry questioned why she had never been able to sit as gracefully as a teenage boy seemed to be able to.</p><p>                “I’m Kurt, and you’re Harry, right?”</p><p>                “That’s right; let me see if I’ve gotten this straight you’re Finn’s step-brother?”</p><p>                “I am, and also one of the original Glee members.”</p><p>                “So, if you’re Finn’s step-brother, and you were one of the original Glee members, why don’t you go to McKinley anymore?”</p><p>                “That’s a rather personal question.” Kurt looked uncomfortable and Harry instantly regretted asking. She hated being put on the spot by people; she didn’t want to do the same to others.</p><p>                “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”</p><p>                “No, no, it’s okay. It’s normal to be curious. To put it simply I was being badly bullied and McKinley stopped being a good environment for me to go to school. I transferred to Dalton Academy instead.”</p><p>                “No bullying at Dalton?”</p><p>                “No, they have a zero-tolerance policy that they actually follow. Anyone caught bullying gets kicked out instantly.”</p><p>                “That’s nice. Wish I had a place like that when I was a kid.”</p><p>                “Oh, were you bullied?”</p><p>                “Yeah, um, quite badly. Dudley hated me, made sure that I never had any friends, made sure everyone hated me too.”</p><p>                “I’m sorry, did he ever stop?”</p><p>                “Not really, but once we were both old enough to go to high school we went to different schools, and once that happened the bullying stopped.”</p><p>                “Here’s to terrible solutions to horrible situations.” Kurt said as he clinked his drink with Harry’s. She smiled wanly at him. “So, I actually came over here for a reason,”</p><p>                “I kind of figured that.”</p><p>                “I was hoping to congratulate you on your wonderful performance tonight.”</p><p>                “Oh, thank you, I didn’t think I did that good.”</p><p>                “No, you were very lovely. I know that Mercedes stole the show, but you looked so heart-wrenching during your performance that you stole a bit of it yourself.”</p><p>                “Thanks so much, I’m mostly in Glee for the social aspect rather than the music, but it’s nice to know that I’m kind of decent at it.”</p><p>                “You’re a bit more than decent.” Kurt smiled kindly at her, “So tell me about yourself. I’ve noticed a fantastic accent. Do you have a fantastic back story to go with it?”</p><p>                “Not so much, I’m just a normal sixteen-year-old girl.”</p><p>                “What brings you to America?”</p><p>                “My dad’s job was transferred to the states so we packed up and moved here.” She took a big gulp of her drink. “What about you? Got an interesting back story?”</p><p>“I like to think so, but it’s my future I’m much more interested in. I’ve got big plans, I’ll be moving to New York after graduation, and I’m going to be on Broadway.” Kurt declared with a theatrical wave of his hand in the air. </p><p>“That beat’s me. I’m kind of totally in the dark about my future plans.”</p><p>                “What? No big dreams you want to fulfill?”</p><p>                “Not really.”</p><p>                “But what do you want to be when you grow up? Like when you were a kid, what was the thing you always wanted to be?”</p><p>                “Happy.” Kurt seemed surprised by her answer, taking a long moment to respond. Harry downed the rest of her drink; bitterly wondering if that was even still possible. She was so damaged now, so broken.</p><p>                Eventually Kurt responded with a smile and a shoulder shrug, “That’s a good way to think about it I suppose. When it all comes down to it; I want to be happy when I grow up too.”</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Kurt had gone back to the karaoke group a while back and Harry had steadily been making her way through a series of drinks, hoping to forget how morose their conversations had made her.</p><p>After Seven minutes in Heaven ended, Puck came back to the couch bringing along another drink for Harry. Their game continued on, Puck continuing to ask questions randomly that Harry avoided, she was well into her sixth or seventh drink of the night, she couldn’t quite remember, and feeling very drunk.  She was also kind of hungry, thinking about it now she didn’t remember eating anything that day, but she didn’t think she should eat now, with the way the world was spinning she would probably just end up throwing anything she ate up.</p><p>                “Puckzilla, where’d you get that nickname? It’s kind of terrible, like...like...like you’re a dinosaur who’s gonna destroy.... Seoul......no not Seoul......Hong Kong? That’s not it either.....it’s oh yeah, Tokyo, right? Are you gonna destroy Tokyo with your soulful sexiness? Is that the plan?”</p><p>                “Godzilla is a bad ass, it’s a fact. I’m a badass, that’s also a fact. Ergo why not make my nickname even more badass then either of us by combining our sheer badassery. Now my turn, have you ever like gone down on a guy?”</p><p>                “Huh?”</p><p>                “You know, have you ever sucked a guy’s dick?”</p><p>                “Oh, yeah, a bunch of times, like I losted count of how many times. It was gross though, didn’t like it. Always tasted weird, and my hair hurt when they pulled it.”</p><p>                “Wait, seriously? I didn’t think you had actually done anything before, you act as if touching people would give you cooties and you don’t know how to get your cootie shot.”</p><p>                “Shit, shit, shit, buggering bloody fucking Merlin’s saggy tits! You can’t...you can’t ...you can’t tell anyone. Forget I told you that. It doesn’t matter.... don’t don’t tell anyone. That’s in the past, way back home, not going to happen over here.” Harry abandoned her drink on the table beside her to crawl desperately all over Puck, hoping to convince him to not tell.</p><p>                “Yeah, yeah, babe, no worries. Everything we’ve learned tonight falls under the truth-or-drink confidentiality agreement. Your secrets are safe with me, baby.” He smirked down at her, amused at how her face crumbled so quickly into a relieved smile. She hugged him tightly, and then scrambled back down to her seat, reclaiming her drink and polishing it off in relief.</p><p>                “So, have you ever.... had a....umm had a pet? Yeah have you ever had a pet?” She questioned him excitedly. Puck laughed at her diversion, and the adorable way she bounced in her seat, unable to sit still. The game carried on, Puck avoiding questions that might upset the very drunk girl, and Harry asking more and more ludicrous questions; her drunken brain coming up with the most ridiculous thoughts.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXXX                                                                                                                                                            </p><p>                “Guys, we’ve got a problem!” Mercedes called into the mass of sleeping teenagers passed out in her living room.</p><p>                “What’s wrong?” Harry questioned, instantly on alert as everybody else looked around groggily.</p><p>                “My parents just texted I to let me know that there’s been a change in plans, and they’re going to be home in 45 minutes! There’s no way that we can get the house cleaned up in time! I’m going to be in so much trouble when they find out that I threw a party when they were gone!”</p><p>                “Mercedes, take a breath and then show me where your parents keep the cleaning supplies. I swear to you, this house will be cleaner in 45 minutes than it was when we got here last night.”</p><p>                “You mean you’re going to help clean?”</p><p>                “I don’t want you to get into trouble. I’ll get your bathroom clean while everybody gathers up their stuff in the living room. Put an empty garbage bag in there, all garbage goes in it. Once I’ve finished the bathroom, I’ll clean the kitchen and that should give everybody enough time to get their stuff out of the living room and I’ll finish by cleaning it. We should be just done by the time that your parents get home.”</p><p>                “Are you sure? That sounds like a lot of work.”</p><p>                “Trust me, I’ve got this.” Harry promised as she gathered up an armful of cleaning supplies and headed off to the first-floor bathroom to begin her cleaning quest.</p><p>                The rest of the Glee club slowly shook themselves awake, gathering up their belongings</p><p>                “She’s like the freaking Tasmanian Devil!” Puck commented impressed as Harry swept through the house in a frenzy of cleaning actions.</p><p>                “I didn’t know people could clean that fast.” Finn agreed impressed.</p><p>                “Well, I can. Now you two lugs need to get out of my way or else I won’t be able to get the living room floor cleaned in time.” Harry practically shoved them out of the living room and into the front hallway, where most of the Glee Club had already assembled as they threw on their shoes and jackets in preparation of leaving.</p><p>                “I don’t want the party to end.” Tina whined; various heads nodded in agreement. Puck didn’t bother to nod, but he also didn’t want it to end, it had been fun hanging out with the Glee club.</p><p>                “Why don’t we all go out to breakfast? Mercedes and Harry can meet us at the restaurant after the cleaning is done.”</p><p>                “That’s a great idea; I have such a hangover right now. I really need a greasy breakfast.”</p><p>                “Well, you’re all in luck. I know the best greasy spoon breakfast place in town.” Puck promised the group with a smile.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>                Breakfast had been delicious, Harry decided. She normally avoided going out to eat because of the cost, but here she’d been able to get a mountain of food for only a few bucks. She hadn’t been able to eat most of her breakfast, but that only meant she got leftovers to take home and enjoy for a few days.</p><p>                The Gleeks headed out to the parking lot with promises to do this again sometime soon. Harry had just made it to her beater of a car when Puck’s voice called across the parking lot.</p><p>                “Hey, Harry, do you have a minute? I’ve got something I need to talk to you about.”</p><p>                “Yeah, no problem. What’s up?” Puck jogged over to her side, giving her his half-smirk half-smile. Harry smiled in response.</p><p>                “This morning, when you cleaned Mercedes place, it was amazing, I’ve never seen anybody clean that fast and well before.”</p><p>                “Thanks, what about it?”</p><p>                “Do you always clean that well, or was this like a one-time fluke?”</p><p>                “I’m a little out of practice; actually, normally I’m a lot faster. If I’d been on top form I think I could have actually waxed the kitchen floor too.”</p><p>                “Okay, seriously impressive. Where did you learn to clean like that?”</p><p>                “I used to spend summers at my aunt’s. She had OCD, the house had to be perfectly clean, and more often than not I got drafted into doing it. Why? What’s with all the questions on cleaning?”</p><p>                “I don’t know if anybody’s bothered to tell you yet, but I’ve got a really popular pool cleaning business. Anyway, I know that a couple of my clients are looking for somebody to come clean their house, under the table, for cheaper than a cleaning service would normally do. They don’t want their husbands finding out that they’ve hired someone to clean when they’re already a housewife. I was wondering if you’d be interested in picking up a little spare cash by cleaning some middle-class women’s houses.”</p><p>                “Under the table? I don’t have to pay taxes and I get paid in cash?”</p><p>                “Of course.”</p><p>                “I’m interested, but how’s this going to work? Am I a subsection of your business? If so do I give you a cut because you helped me find clients? Am I my own business and aside from having some shared clients we’re completely separate? What were you thinking?”</p><p>                “I was thinking that we could run ourselves more like two separate businesses with a shared client list, who recommend each other’s services to our own clients.  No paying each other any money.”</p><p>                “That sounds fantastic, Puck, I’m definitely in.”</p><p>                “Great, make up a list of rates for cleaning services, give me some copies and I’ll give it to my clients.”</p><p>                “I’ll get them to you for Monday. How many copies do you think I should make up?”</p><p>                “Sixty or Seventy to start, probably. Better to have too many than not enough. You can always use the photocopier at school. It’s ten cents a sheet, but beats making them all by hand.”</p><p>                “Puck, honestly, thank you so much, I really could use some extra money and this is a perfect opportunity for me.” The thought of a job, an under the table job, made Harry so happy. She’d been carefully rationing the money she’d gotten from pawning the Malfoy jewels she’d had on her when she’d run. She’d thought it would have been impossible to get a job because she was illegally in the country. Money had been getting tighter and tighter, but now she’d finally be able to get by without fear of running out of rent money and having to live in her car again or having to dumpster dive for food.</p><p>                “No problem, babe, Puckzilla is always here to help.” He smirked at her, before waving goodbye. Harry smiled to herself as she headed back to her car. So unbelievably happy with how her day had turned out.</p>
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